Peter Parker/Spider-Man Poll

Peter Parker/Spider-Man Poll

Mike Fleming reports that the Sony brass watched screen tests of top Spider-Man 4 contenders on Friday. On the list: Brits Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot), Aaron Johnson (KickAss) and Andrew Garfield (The Social Network), plus Anton Yelchin (Star Trek), Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief) and Alden Ehrenreich (Tetro). Frank Dillane (Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince) and Michael Angarano (Lords of Dogtown) are among the studio finalists. The Playlist named Angarano as their pick months ago, and discussed many of the same contenders. Sony is expected to make a decision soon.

Meanwhile, Harry Knowles of aint-it-cool-news complains that Deadline’s Fleming no longer reports with the same authority that he did at Variety. He’s more interested in being first, Knowles writes, than waiting for real confirmation. Knowles has never positioned himself as a journalist, so it’s odd to see him asking trade reporters to behave like professionals. Knowles does his own brand of reporting, though. He adds a “source” on what’s happening with The Hobbit (it’s a complex puzzle that involves two studios and many players) who is clearly Peter Jackson. Sites like AICN are in touch with filmmakers directly, while Variety and The Hollywood Reporter tend to rely on info from agents and studios.